


Nostalgia

by WritLarge



Category: Captain America (Movies), Hellboy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU set after the avengers, Cap and Hellboy met during the war, Crossover, Gen, Howling Commando mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-01 18:03:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10927131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritLarge/pseuds/WritLarge
Summary: Crossover where Cap met Hellboy (emphasis on boy) during the war and later runs into him at S.H.I.E.L.D. when B.P.R.D. has been called in on a consult.“Frozen? With magic?” Normally, Steve hated questions about the ice, but Hellboy radiated a sort of working stiff weariness that he found strangely comforting. That, and it was nice to stand eye to eye with someone for a change.“Yeah, no. Just ice.” Hellboy made a face, as if to say, Seriously? To which Steve’s expression replied, Yeah, I know.





	Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> Found this in my drafts folder. Never got around to posting it, so here it is.
> 
> Set not too long after The Avengers.

“Hey, Captain America!” The “man” that swaggered down the hall towards him was huge and red. For a moment Steve tensed, having nothing but bad experiences with men who came in that particular shade. It was early morning and the meeting with Fury he’d just escaped hadn’t helped at all. Steve assessed the approaching man quickly for potential weapons, relaxing a little when he noticed the massive stone hand and a slender tail tip peeking out from a long battered overcoat.

“H-Hellboy?” He was lot bigger than Steve remembered, both in height and breadth. Meeting the demon boy by accident, after having stumbled into Professor Bruttenholm’s entourage, had been something Steve would never forget. It had should have shaken his Catholic faith to the core, but the image of a very tiny Hellboy curled up next to Peggy fast asleep had melted away his fears. He’d just been another kid after that.

“You remember me?” the man grinned. “I was pretty small. I don’t remember it much, but the Professor had the photo we took on his study wall. Knew it was you when I saw the news.” 

Hellboy scratched his head, unlit cigar stub hanging from his lips. He had hair now, inky black and tied up in a rough knot, bushy side burns degrading into dark wiry scruff that ran along his jaw. The horns that had curled up from his forehead were shorn off, leaving flat smooth stumps. “What the hell happened to you anyway? You don’t look undead.”

“Uh, no,” Steve floundered for a response to that. “Frozen, actually.” Undead? The idea made his skin crawl. 

“Frozen? With magic?” Normally, Steve hated questions about the ice, but Hellboy radiated a sort of working stiff weariness that he found strangely comforting. That, and it was nice to stand eye to eye with someone for a change. 

“Yeah, no. Just ice.” Hellboy made a face, as if to say, Seriously? To which Steve’s expression replied, Yeah, I know. 

“Man, that’s gotta suck. Everybody thought you were dead after ‘45, even us freaks at the B.P.R.D.” The confusion must have shown. Hellboy gestured to the logo on the visitor badge dangling from his lapel. “Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. That’s what the Professor called it.”

“So you’re-“

“Here on a consult. Magic, monsters, gods, that kind of thing.” Toying a bit with his cigar stub, Hellboy looked at it in consideration. He glanced at Steve, who only had to flick his eyes once towards the Absolutely No Smoking sign, complete with multiple pictograms, for Hellboy to sigh and shove the stub behind his ear. “Kate’s in a meeting beating some sense into your intelligence guys. I just came along for the ride.”

There was nothing as pathetic as a man desperate for a cigarette. Steve had never been a smoker, but nearly everyone else he’d known had been and he recognized the signs. He jerked his head towards the break room and began walking, Hellboy trailing just behind. 

“Well,” Steve looked back at his companion, the hallway being just a bit too tight for them to walk shoulder to shoulder. “I don’t think Thor’s actually a god. He’s from another planet, or possibly another dimension.” 

Hellboy snorted.

“Oh, there’s lots of gods and monsters and other bastards too, but I know what you’re getting at.” Walking through the door Steve held for him, Hellboy collapsed on the couch, making it creak ominously. The rosary beads that hung from his wrist swung in the air as he retrieved his cigar. “There’s one Up and one Down and the in between?” His huge red shoulders shrugged. “Lotta crap if you ask me.”

Steve smiled despite himself. 

Hellboy lit the cigar and took a drag, “You talk to Peggy?” 

For a moment, Steve’s heart stuttered in his chest and his breath caught. He swung a chair around by its back and sat heavily.

“I haven’t seen her since before the crash.” He had the files from S.H.I.E.L.D. and he knew she was still alive, he just hadn’t found the time or will yet to face her. Peggy had lived her whole life and Steve had missed it. Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn’t have been better if they’d found him later, after everyone he’d known had been dead. A clean break.

“You should go. Not like she’s not gonna know you’re back now, is it?” He had a point. The Avengers battle in New York was still grabbing headlines. “She was real nice the first time we met. Didn’t scream or anything.” 

In fact, Peggy had been fascinated. While it had taken Steve a good couple minutes to get over his shock, Peggy had crouched down and introduced herself. Hellboy had been a little shy despite his eagerness to make friends, so they’d sat and chatted with the Professor and his crew while the little demon played. Trevor Bruttenholm had expressed his regret at being unable to assist them with Hydra and Schmidt, and had offered some serious advice regarding powers beyond human understanding that Steve later wished he had listened to much more carefully.

“The first time?”

“Yeah. I haven’t seen her in years, but she came by a few times as a liaison. Peggy’d hang around, after a meeting or whatever, and she told the best stories. Brought me a cat once. Said every boy should have a pet,” Hellboy’s smile went a little sad and soft for a moment. “I don’t think the others at S.S.R. or S.H.I.E.L.D., or whatever the hell they were calling themselves, were too comfortable with us. Or me.” 

That struck Steve as familiar. He knew what it was to be set apart, though not so much as some of the other Avengers. He’d promised himself to do his best by them, and anyone else who came along, if they gave him the chance. It wasn’t just the right thing to do. It was the best thing to do. Bruce and Hulk in New York were evidence enough of that.

Hellboy took a long drag, “Well, except for Gabe. He came to work for us in the fifties.”

“Gabe? You mean Gabriel Jones?’ He’d glanced through the Howling Commandos files, knew Jim and Monty were dead, but he didn’t remember any details about the others.

“Yup. Guess the regular Army was too boring for him after running around with you,” Hellboy pointed a massive finger at Steve’s chest and smiled. “Great guy. Vicious card player. You should come to poker night. He’d love that.”

He couldn’t deny that seeing old friends was tempting. Steve had barely had a chance to get to know anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D., or the other Avengers for that matter. They’d parted ways quickly. Steve had tried to take some time to clear his head after everything that had happened, but it hadn’t worked. He’d been left at loose ends, untethered and alone, until he’d returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. and been given something to do. 

“He still works for you?”

“Less field work now, but yeah. Accidental side effect of all the para-not-normal. Dunno exactly what happened, but the agents on one mission all came back a few decades younger. Jones was in charge, getting close to retirement and whammo. Came back dragging a bunch of kids. Huge goddamned mess. Never did get all the details on that one.”

“It’s still classified.” A blonde woman stood in the doorway, arms crossed. “Wouldn’t want anyone getting Ideas about unpredictable de-ageing magic. You were supposed to stay where I left you.”

“Awww, c’mon Kate,” Hellboy waved his large hand towards Steve. “It’s Captain America! He hates Nazis even more than we do, and that’s sayin’ something. Kate, Captain America. Cap this is Kate.” The introduction was met with a rather dark glare. Hellboy coughed. “Dr. Kate Corrigan.”

Steve held out his hand and tried for a friendly smile. Dr. Corrigan raised an eyebrow and looked askance at Hellboy, who shrugged.

“Don’t look at me – he’s not undead. Frozen, apparently.” That seemed to be enough, as she took his hand and shook it firmly. 

“You can both call me Steve.” Dr. Corrigan graced him with a businesslike smile.

“Well, Steve, it was nice to meet you, but we need to get going.” 

Hellboy sighed and heaved himself up off the sofa, “You got a phone?”

“Umm, yes. Yes, I do.” He did, in fact, have a phone that had been issued to him by S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve hadn’t been sure that he’d wanted one, but Fury had insisted that he be accessible at all times. After playing around with it a little, Maria had taken pity on him and given him a crash course. Steve learned quickly. He preferred talking to texting, Angry Birds to Candy Crush Saga and had taken ages to find a ring tone that didn’t sound tinny and wrong.

“Give Kate your number then and we’ll set up a poker night.”

Kate rolled her eyes but pulled out her phone without comment and traded numbers. Steve had only had S.H.I.E.L.D. numbers up to this point, though there was a suspicious entry he’d only noticed recently labeled The Consultant. 

“Where are your offices now?” He remembered hearing Professor Bruttenholm go on about New Mexico, which would be a long way to go for a poker game.

Hellboy explained about their new location, and that they’d figure out transport one way or another, as Steve walked them out of the building, trying to ignore the attention that Captain America and a huge red demon drew. He caught one or two people crossing themselves as Hellboy passed. The man himself didn’t seem to pay them any notice.

“I’ll pass your number on to Gabe, okay?” 

“Yeah.”

“Great,” Hellboy chuckled, “and maybe next time we have to bash some Nazi skulls in, S.H.I.E.L.D. can send you over on loan.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, “Does that happen often?”

“Hellboy!” Kate scolded and threw Steve an apologetic look.

“What? Nostalgia, right?” Hellboy turned to Steve. “C’mon, wouldn’t you rather be beating the crap out of undead Nazis instead of dealing with all this political spy vs. spy bullshit? Because, let me tell you, nobody feels bad about killing undead Nazis.”

That sounded outrageously black and white, and Steve could definitely see the appeal in fighting the sort of monsters you didn’t have to hold back against. His face must have spoken for him.

“Yeah. I thought so,” Hellboy grinned and slapped him on the back. “I’ll call you.”


End file.
